SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s Note: Watch the entire briefing in the video player above. Newsletter recipients can click here to access the video.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff updated the community about the local response to COVID-19 in their daily briefing Tuesday night.
Here are a few of the highlights:
- Nirenberg reported 2,882 COVID-19 cases and 75 total deaths in Bexar County, as of Tuesday. Eighteen cases are from the community, one is from the Bexar County Jail, five are from congregate settings and 19 are under investigation. No new deaths were reported today.
- City officials also reported that 92 patients are hospitalized, 35 are in the intensive care unit and 21 are on ventilators.
- Wolff said only three jail inmates are in the infirmary, and none are in the hospital. He said hundreds of inmates are still waiting to be transferred to the prison system.
- Nirenberg said the area’s positivity rate remains at 6.3%, and all progress indicators are trending well.
- Dr. Dawn Emerick, director of the Metropolitan Health District, said the health authority is conducting an asymptomatic study and testing people in random households who consent. She said the study started Monday, and samples will be collected through June 8. About 90 people consented to being tested Monday, and about the same number of people agreed Tuesday, Emerick said. The goal is to have 500 samples for the study.
- Emerick said the study’s goal is to help Metro Health get a quantifiable projection of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in the area. She said this will help formulate better research questions when more data is available.
- Emerick said random homes were selected for the study, and participants are being asked if they are willing to participate in the study. She said the participants will get their results, and the count will be added to the city’s numbers once the data becomes available.
- Wolff spoke about some of the protesters he saw at the County Courthouse today. He said he observed a lot of people wearing masks and commended them for taking precautions while exercising their right to protest.
- Emerick said two new walk-up testing sites will be open this week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Blossom Athletics Center and Sunset Elementary School. She said more information about the sites will be coming sometime this week.
Coronavirus data: San Antonio cases stabilizing, but officials urge vigilance to avoid second wave
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